Beginners Events - Podium Reviews

 

This last weekend was a very busy one within the IHL. Not only were several members of the league competing against the best in the world at Ardacon but there was also not one but two one day beginner events. So there's lots to cover as we dive into the an overview of the winning lists from those two events. 

Up first was an 800 point event run by Mike Bradford at Exploding Dice Games in Bangor, Northern Ireland on Saturday. 

3rd Place 

Ben Hanna

Moria 

Durburz 

Goblin drum 

Bat Swarm 

3 X goblin prowlers 

Cave troll with two handed hammer

3 X goblin with shield 

5 X goblin with spears 

Groblog 

Cave troll with two handed hammer 

3 X goblin prowlers 

2 X goblin with shield 

4 X goblin with spears 

1 X warg marauder 

Moria goblin captain 

3 X goblin prowlers 

8 X goblin with bows 

Warg marauder 

Moria goblin captain 

3 X goblin prowlers 

3 X goblin with shields 

4 X goblin warriors with spears  

1 X goblin warrior with spear and shield

Moria goblin shaman 

Up first, in 3rd place was this Moria Goblin horde. If there's one thing that Goblins do well it's bringing lots of models to the board, and this list does just that. However, as well as lots of Goblins this list also features several other useful features; a pair of Trolls bring some heavy hitting power, a Bat Swarm helps combat enemy heroes and some Warg Marauders offer some extra mobility. 

2nd place 

Nicky Forsythe

Defenders of Helms Deep LL

Theoden w/shield

3 Royal guard w/ throwing spear

3 Royal guard

4 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear and shield 

Gamling w/ royal standard

Aldor

Haleth

6 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear and shield 

Gimli

4 Warriors of Rohan w/ Throwing spear + shield

1 Warrior of Rohan w/ shield 1 Warrior of Rohan w/bow

4 Galadhirim warriors w/ bow and spear

Legolas w/ armour and elven cloak

8 Galadhirim warriors w/bow and spear

In 2nd place were these valiant Defenders of Helms Deep. Nearly every model in this list carries a ranged weapon, be it a Bow, Elf bow or Throwing Spears. This makes for a very potent threat at range, especially combined with the increased range of the various bows that the Legion bonus provides. This means that this army should be able to outshoot most opponents. 

1st place 

Peter McFetridge

Goblin Town and Azog's Hunters Alliance

Goblin King (Leader)

Gollum

16 Goblins

Grinnah

12 Goblins

Goblin Town Captain

12 Goblins

Mercenary Captain

12 Goblin Mercenaries 

Azog on White Warg

Hunter Orc with banner

2 Hunter Orcs with bow

3 Fell Wargs

Coming out on top was this alliance of Goblin Town and Azogs Hunters. Goblin Town bring high numbers, which are very useful in many of the missions as well as Gollum, who is a threat to any hero thanks to the Ring. The Goblin King makes for a great Leader who is difficult to take down due to his Blubbery Mass and also means that Azog is free to do what Azog does best (killing stuff) without fear of surrendering Leader VPs if things go south. 

And secondly was a 500 point event held at Underworld Gaming in Dublin on Sunday, run by Dave Murphy. 

3rd Place 

Stephen Fay 

The Fiefdoms

Warband One:

Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horse with Lance (Leader) 

2 Axemen of Lossarnach

2 Knights of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horses with Lances

2 Knights of Dol Amroth

Warband Two:

Duinhir

5 Blackroot Vale Archers with Spears

Warband Three:

Forlong the Fat

1 Axeman of Lossarnach

2 Knights of Dol Amroth on Armoured Horses with Lances

2 Knights of Dol Amroth

In 3rd place were the Fiefdoms of Gondor commanded by Imrahil. One of the big bonuses for the Fiefdoms is the ability for their Heroes to stack overlapping buffs on their troops. Here, Imrahil and Forlong both buff the combat potential of the list with banner rerolls, Fight Value bonuses and bonuses to wound rolls. Meanwhile, Duinhir makes the Blackroot Vale Archers deadly at range with the possibility of rerolls on both to hit and to wound rolls.

2nd place 

Luke Revell

Kingdom of Khazad-Dum

Warband One:

Durin (Leader)

10 Hearthguards

1 Dwarf Warrior with banner and shield

Warband Two:

Dwarf Captain with two-handed axe

6 Dwarf Warriors with shields

6 Dwarf Warriors with Dwarf bows

Taking 2nd place here was Durin and the Kingdom of Khazad Dum. Durin is a very sturdy leader with his incredibly high Defence making him difficult to kill and he also packs a punch with his Master-forged Axe. He also unlocks the Hearthguard upgrade for the Khazad Guard, massively increasing their damage output by making them Burly and hence allowing them to make full use of their 2-handed axes without penalty. 

1st place 

Samuel Fay 

Army of Gothmog

Gothmog on Warg with shield

6 Morannon Orcs with shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears and shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears

1 Mordor Troll

Gothmog's Enforcer

6 Morannon Orcs with shields

3 Morannon Orcs with spears and shields

2 Morannon Orcs with shields

1 Mordor Orc Warrior

And winning this event was an Army of Gothmog list. Morannon Orcs are a very efficient choice of Warriors due to them hitting both S4 and D6 making them both hard hitting and durable, a very good combination. Here we have a solid number of those Morannon ably supported by a Mordor Troll who offers a potent threat to both Warriors and the types of Hero expected at this points level. Speaking of Heroes, Gothmog makes a very capable leader at this level with Master of Battle and his Enforcer making the most of his Might points. 

So there we are. Congratulations to all the winners and I hope everyone had a fun time and will be back to more events in the near future. And thanks to Michael and Dave for organising these 2 events. 

A Glance into Galadriel's Mirror - MESBG Preview Review

“Praise from the praise-worthy is beyond all rewards.” Faramir

So last Sunday we got to see the much anticipated Games Workshop ME:SBG Preview Event and it has been generating a lot of discussion across social media. And so I thought why shouldn't I throw my opinions into the mix?

Firstly, most of my predictions from my last article were wrong, although the usual Sunday Preview on Warhammer Community somewhat saved my blushes by announcing the preorders for Orophin and Rumil this weekend. What we did get announced instead was a new Battle of Osgiliath starter box (including 5 new plastic hero models and new terrain), 4 Battlehost boxes, a new Forgeworld Glorfindel and Guards of the Galadrim Court and a new plastic Elrond model.

Onto my thoughts and firstly, most of the new models look fantastic. In my opinion Glorfindel was definitely the pick of the bunch, he looks stunning (and I'm not normally an Elf fan*). Elrond and his banner bearer also looked good, as well as the new Faramir and his Ranger pals. I was already a big fan of Faramir, so he will definitely be on the to get list in short order.  However, the Galadrim Guard I found just a little bit uninspiring and question why they should have been on the list for new sculpts when other models are crying out for them. Gothmog I'm still undecided on, the foot model looks alright but the proportions on the warg just seemed a little off (too much shoulder and too short in the neck, but that might be a camera angle problem, so I'll reserve judgement on that for now).

One of the more exciting things in my opinion is the new, modular Osgiliath ruins that come in the new starter box. New terrain is always great and these ruins look great. I'm looking forward to seeing what people achieve with these both in Osgiliath themed boards and more generic ruins ranging from Fornost to Umbar. Terrain is such a crucial part in the game that including it in the starter box is a great step by GW to help new players jumping straight into playing.

One of the big points that's been made on social media is that this announcement is that it'll be great for encouraging new players into the game thanks to the new starter box and the Battlehost boxes making it easier to start an army. If it does help to grow the fanbase then that's fantastic; more players = more sales = more investment from Games Workshop. However, I have a couple of niggles with this as well. Number 1, none of the boxes allow you to field a Matched Play legal army straight out of the box, so you couldn't just buy a box and be ready to play any pick-up games. And number 2, one of the critisisms I've heard from people who might be interested in trying the game is that the models are so old and that is putting them off. Unfortunately, this release won't solve that issue, but here's hoping it will entice some new players into the game.

The only aspect of this Preview I saw as a big negative was the complete lack of anything really new. Everything was either resculpts of existing characters or repackaging of existing sprues. This has been the main criticism I've heard from existing fans, who probably already have extensive collections. Personally I already have a large Minas Tirith army and I really don't need anymore Warriors of Minas Tirith, Rangers or Knights and I have all the existing models for the Heroes getting new sculpts, so I probably don't need any of those releases. I would have preferred to see at least something new that will advance the game, be it a model with a new profile or a confirmation of the next supplement. Instead, the best we got was an updated rulebook including the FAQs and Erratas, which will be useful for all players by eliminating the need the flip back and forth between the rulebook and the FAQ (at least until the next round of FAQs is released a few months later). One can only hope that the sight of Gil-galad's sigal upon the elven banner is a hint of things to come.

So overall, in my opinion, although I don't think this Preview quite lived up to the hype it promised beforehand I'm generally fairly happy with the announcements and the general direction of the ME:SBG team.



*Faithless woodland sprites

Looking into Galadriel's Mirror - Predictions for the ME:SBG Preview

"What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which is it that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell."

Games Workshop announced last weekend that this Sunday they would be holding an online Middle Earth SBG Preview. This has naturally led to a lot of excitement within the community and plenty of speculation about what may be revealed. So I thought it might be fun to join in with my own guesses.

Firstly, I think we'll get a release date of next weekend for the new Orophin and Rumil models from Forgeworld. They were available to buy at the recent Warhammer World Doubles event and therefore cannot be too far away from general release.

Secondly, I think there'll be a big Two Towers theme to this Preview with a Made to Order announced for the 20th anniversary of the film in line with the Fellowship of the Ring one we had recently. This could include sets such as Warg Attack,  Heroes of Helm's Deep, Haldir's Elves (for about the 28th time on MTO*), Merry and Pippin vs Grisnakh, Faramir's Rangers, Uruk-Hai Battering Ram etc.

I think we'll also see the model for Beechbone finally, again in line with a Two Towers theme. This guy has been waiting well over 2 years now for a model (since War in Rohan and a Two Towers themed Preview would be perfect opportunity.

And lastly on the Two Towers theme I think we might see a Helm's Deep terrain piece. This could either be a rerelease of the old Helm's Deep or a new Forgeworld piece,  similar to the Weathertop and Amon Hen ones we've had.

And finally I think the last big announcement will be the next supplement for ME:SBG, which I think will be focusing on the War of the Last Alliance. Focusing on the 2nd Age would allow Games Workshop to capitalise on the hype generated by Amazon's Rings of Power while remaining within the realms of their existing licence and therefore represents on ideal opportunity for Games Workshop. This conflict has huge potential for a large supplement, on a par with Defence of the North and is an era that Games Workshop haven't really explored since the initial creation of the game. This prediction also lines up with the teaser images shown on the Warhammer TV Facebook page this week with both Rivendell (under the leadership of Gil-galad and Elrond) and Lorien (under the command of King Amdir) playing a part in the war against Sauron. I think we'll potentially see one or two models for this supplement such as  Forgeworld Gil-galad and King Amdir models.

Last Alliance on the Slopes of Mount Doom by Oleg Kuzmin

So there's my predictions for tomorrow. Do you think I'm on the money, or what do you think may be revealed?

*I exaggerate, but they do remain a very popular MTO choice.